The need for a convenient personal portable copier has led to the development of several copier systems during the past eighty years. Three inventors have been responsible for the major development in the field. The first of these, George C. Beidler, developed the Rectigraph machine which was manufactured and marketed by the Rectigraph Company which was later brought out by the Haloid Company which itself later became the Xerox Corporation. The second, Dr. Carl S. Miller developed a process known as thermography and, at about the same time, the third, Chester F. Carlson, developed a process known as electrophotography which is the base upon which the success of the Xerox Corporation rests.
The problem to which all three of these men addressed themselves, that is, the creation of a device which would enable the user to copy portions to documents conveniently, was not solved by their work. Documents must still be brought to the copiers since all existing copiers require a power source which is not movable. The user of a copier is still dependent upon the availability of the equipment. In instances in which a copier is not available, the user must either copy the material by hand or make photographic reproductions.
The instant invention is concerned with the development of a hand-held, battery-operable, portable, personal copier. Basically, the copier is a short focal length camera with a built-in flash unit. Movement of the copier over a document being copied causes a synchronized movement of photosensitive paper through the image plane where it is exposed. The image on the paper is developed in room light, preferably fluorescent "cool white" light.
In principle, many systems may be conceived for a hand-held copier device. While all existing photographic and copier duplication processes can be adapted to produce a miniature copier, many of the commercial and research technologies that have been reported in literature over the past years would yield inconvenient, expensive or technically inferior devices. The major technical problem relates to providing adequate power for the total system in a compact, low weight unit of about one pound. Other technical problems include the requirement for high voltages, liquid or hazardous vapor developers and long development times.
Surveys show that it is essential that a portable, hand-held copier be foolproof and that it require almost no training to use. In addition, the following specifications are found to be essential: that it be easy to use with no messy or smelly chemicals or processes, that it be safe to use with no chance of fire or damage to the original documents or books being copied, that the cost be within the area of $35.00 to $100.00, that the size be approximately that of a portable calculator, that the development be rapid, that it be able to copy an image of about a newspaper column width, that the cost of supplies be $0.02 to $0.45 per 25 centimeter strip, that there be adequate life of the power supply for perhaps 100 strips with low-cost, rechargeable batteries, that modular loading of the paper cartridge and simple replacement or recharging of the batteries be available, and that there be widespread availability of supplies. The copier herein described and claimed embodies the foregoing requisites.